Vital Strategies, a global public health organization, has announced the launch of a $15 million initiative designed to reduce alcohol-related harms in hard-hit countries through policy change. 

Led by Vital Strategies, RESET Alcohol will assist at least 15 countries over three years in developing policies such as raising the price of alcohol via taxation, regulating its availability, and restricting alcohol marketing. The initiative is a collaboration of six global organizations: Vital Strategies, Movendi International, the University of Illinois Chicago, the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA), the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (NCD), and the World Health Organization. Initially, the initiative will support countries primarily in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with an emphasis on high-population, high-burden countries. 

According to Vital Strategies, alcohol is one of the top 10 drivers of death, illness, and injury, with wide-ranging social and economic harms, many of which are related to alcohol disproportionally affecting young adults. Surveys from multiple countries suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has further increased drinking.

“Every year, alcohol use cuts millions of lives short and causes even more widespread suffering,” said Vital Strategies senior vice president of public health programs Adam Karpati. “The onus can’t be on individuals. We must reset from an environment where the alcohol industry is empowered to push alcohol into nearly every aspect of our lives, including schools, sports, and media. We need policies that protect kids, make healthy choices the easy choices, and check industry’s influence. RESET Alcohol will do just that through strong partnerships with government and civil society leaders who are committed to action.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Nadya So)